Dawn
by xxTigerAvatarxx
Summary: What happened after Aang defeated Firelord Ozai? This is just a ONE-SHOT on my interpretation on how the Gaang's reunion would've gone. R&R pewees!


"We're approaching the Fire Nation Palace. Everything looks pretty quiet down there… I wonder…" Sokka needn't finish his curiosity, for each of the friends were in his shared state of mind. _Had Zuko beaten Azula? Had Katara and him done as well as they had? _The water tribe warrior inhaled deeply, the first intake of air which didn't have the feel of war on it, he realized with a small smile. The world would be so much more different now...

Aang stood against the back wall of the airship bridge, maintaining a tight grip on a sleeping Ozai's shoulder- as unnecessary as it was, he couldn't shake the weight off of his shoulders which he had carried for so long. As Sokka guided the craft lower, Suki went to him and wrapped her arms tenderly around his waist, leaning her head onto his shoulder. Without hesitation, Sokka turned his head towards her and placed a kiss on her forehead.

The Avatar couldn't suppress the sigh which escaped his lips. For all he knew, Katara could very well be dead, along with Zuko. And he had messed up… bad. Aang continued to mentally kick himself for kissing her after she had told him of her confusion… it had only made the situation worse. What had happened after he had disappeared that night? Had she worried about him? Did she search for him with the others? Or, as was also possible, had she only worried about the arrival of the comet and Ozai's defeat?

What did she feel for him, if anything?

"She'll be okay, Aang…" Toph's voice caused his head to snap up to look incredulously at her.

"Wha… How did you-?"

"Please, Twinkletoes! You don't think I can tell you're thinking about Sugarqueen? Everytime she _inhales_, your heart takes off like a Kimono Rhino! I see _all._" Toph stood and made her way closer to him, taking the seat next to the dethroned "Phoenix King".

"How do you know she'll be there when we land?" He lamented, eyeing the ground as it drew nearer to them. "How do you know… that she'll be okay?"

"I don't. But I know Katara… And she's a lot tougher than she looks. And besides, she's got Zuko there with her… And if there's one thing I know about Sparky, it's that we can trust him to keep her safe." A smile graced her lips and she reached across Ozai to jab the air bender's bicep affectionately. "Don't worry about it, Aang. Katara can take care of herself."

As he rubbed his bruising arm, his mood began to lighten, and his grip on Ozai slackened to the point where his hand was merely resting on his shoulder. The older man's hands were roped behind his back, with his upper arms also bound tightly to the sides of his body. Though the four companions knew he wouldn't stand a chance to escape, they weren't willing to risk it.

With a jolt, Sokka "landed" landed the airship at the heart of the palace plaza… if you could call it that. From inside the craft, all that was visible was scattered bits of smoldering rock and debris. Mountains of fire flickered steadily, illuminating the square in their ominous glow. The entirety of the plaza as a whole, was empty… Not a breath of wind stirred, not a soul could be seen. Everything was still.

"It's so… quiet." Suki observed, her voice shaking as it left her lips. Sokka was the first to limp out of the ship, Suki in tow, and began shouting for his sister. After minutes went by, and there was still no response from Katara or Zuko, Suki gently tugged on his arm- urging him to continue his search in another part of the palace.

"They'd be here! I know it! This is where the battle happened… they couldn't have gone very far!" Tears leaked from his eyes and he stooped down to the ground, clutching at his side desperately as the sobs continued to break from his lips. Toph leapt off of the airship, leaving Aang on the craft with Ozai, and helped Sokka climb to his feet. Wordlessly, she clapped her hand onto his shoulder and the trio slowly turned back to the ship.

"Sokka?" The familiar voice stopped the young warrior in his tracks and he turned to face the direction from which it had come. As his eyes locked with hers, the younger sibling began to race toward her brother, tears of relief flooding their eyes as she finally reached Sokka and embraced him. Katara laughed with solace as he lifted her into the air to the best of his ability and twirled her around with glee.

"You're okay!" He exlaimed. Suki and Toph quickly joined the two siblings and embraced Katara in separate bone crushing hugs, and Toph of course threatened to slug her if she ever mentioned the hug to anyone outside of their little group. The atmosphere was light as Zuko hobbled over and joined in with the laughter and warmth of the much welcomed company. Never before had they been so relieved to see each other. But, as Katara noticed, someone was missing from this reunion.

"Sokka…" she addressed her brother in a hushed voice, the laughter quickly dying down at the somber tone. "Where's Aang?" Zuko's head quickly jerked up at the mention of his friend, curiosity lacing his features as well, while Sokka explained that he was still on the air craft and Suki immediately ran off to go bring him out.

Katara and Zuko glanced at one another and the water bender's breath had ceased entirely at the timid wavering of Sokka's voice. In reality, Sokka feared of Zuko's reaction when he saw that his father was still alive; however, the two benders mistook his hesitance as a sign that something was wrong with Aang that no one had spoken of before the mentioning of his name.

So when Suki exited the air craft with a fuming Ozai in tow, Sokka got the reaction he was expecting from the fire prince. At the sight of his, very much alive, father _walking _towards them, his jaw hit the floor and he was rendered immobile for a few short minutes. After gaining back his mobility, a string of questions (entangled with a great number of colorful words) were shouted in the direction of Ozai and Toph had to struggle to reign in Zuko's anger.

"ZUKO! Calm down!"

"WHY IS HE ALIVE? ARE YOU PEOPLE _STUPID?!_"

"ZUKO!"

"HE CAN BURN RIGHT THROUGH THOSE ROPES! HE'LL ATTACK US ALL WHILE OUR BACKS ARE TURNE-"

"HE CAN'T BEND ANYMORE!"

Zuko's frame went stiff, bulging eyes locked on a defeated Ozai, as Toph's words rang through his mind.

"…what?" Toph released him at the moment he ceased to struggle in her grasp and smirked as he fell to the ground in front of her. Suki walked over to the group with the disgruntled older man, and stood beside Sokka and Toph as Zuko looked incredulously at his friends. Even Katara stood away from the group a bit, seeming to forget the fact that Aang hadn't exited the craft with Suki at the moment that Ozai _had._

"Would you believe me if I told you that Twinkletoes found a way to defeat the Loser Lord _without_ killing him?" Katara looked at the young girl in disbelief, simply responding that she would have to. Her eyes suddenly were drawn to a figure emerging from the aircraft, shy hands timidly readjusting the bandage which covered a small part of his chest in the area where one of Ozai's blasts had hit their mark. She quickly blushed as she realized that he wasn't wearing a shirt, but had no inclination to hide it or the onset of tears which had begun to stream down her cheeks. He was alive. And he hadn't taken the Firelord's life.

He kept his eyes trained on the bandage as her fixed its position around his shoulder, walking down the board as he did so. When his eyes lifted up to glance at something other than his handy work, they managed to focus on one member of the group first and foremost.

_Katara. _

She was running towards him even before he had seen her, tears streaming down her face, and he mimicked her, eyes beginning to brim over with relief. There were no words exchanged between the two of them, just the silent understanding of the love which connected them as the two crashed to the ground with the force of Katara's tackle. Without hesitation, she crashed her lips to his, wet tears staining his cheeks as their mouths worked furiously against each other, portraying all the love, sadness, shame, hurt, happiness, and relief all in this passionate connection.

When they finally broke apart for air, they simply gazed into each other's eyes- longing more than anything to stay in that position forever: her in his arms, with nothing in the world to separate them. After a minute or so, they sat up and Aang helped Katara to her feet, gazing lovingly (up) at her.

They rejoined the group, along with Sokka, who had been handing Ozai over to some White Lotus members which Iroh had sent to help the kids with the aftermath of the war. Katara silently thanked the spirits that her brother had not been in the vicinity to see her reunion with Aang… Wordlessly, the six of them took a spot on the ground, forming a circle and spent the rest of the evening filling the others in with their tales of success from earlier on in the day. When several spots in a story were reached (Suki being separated, Toph's grip slipping, Zuko being shot with lightning, etc.) there were gasps of shock and words of worry exclaimed. But when his friends' stories had all finished, it became Aang's turn to speak.

The group looked on anxiously as he told them about his struggle: how Ozai had been on the offensive for the first half, throwing fireball after fireball his way, and how Aang had barely managed to escape a few of them. The Avatar told his friends how he had locked himself in a ball of earth, being too frightened to face the Fire Lord anymore, but that Ozai had managed to break through somehow and get to him through the shield.

"It was so scary. I don't know what was about to happen after the rock was completely withered away, I only felt the sharp rock as it jabbed into the center of my spine…" With a gasp from Katara and Zuko, he continued to explain how it managed to unlock his seventh chakra and surge his spirit into the Avatar State.

"I… I almost did it, too. He was trapped on the ground in front of me… at my disposal… And I almost did it…" Aang whispered, becoming lost in the memory of what he had almost done to another life. Katara, his anchor brought him back by stroking his cheek gently with her hand, coaxing him to continue. He looked over and smiled at her, before returning to his tale.

"I'm not sure what I did exactly… When the lion turtle told me about bending another's energy, I was so afraid I wouldn't be able to go through with it… That I wouldn't be strong enough to defeat him."

"But you did." Zuko smiled at his friend, awe etched into his features as clear as the scar on his face. "You defeated my father and saved the entire world, Aang. And you did it without going against what you believe in. You _took away _his _bending…_ It sounds so silly when I say it.. But you _actually_ did that..."

Without warning, the group all tackled Aang in a fierce group hug, laughing at his measly attempts to escape the oncoming attack.

"_We knew you could do it, Aang."_


End file.
